They are both in you
by moonbird
Summary: In Harry's third year Lupin spend a lot of time telling him about his parents, and that was really very nice of him.  However, there is another boy who's parents Lupin somewhat knew, and as he is such a nice person he tells Neville about his parents.


Remus Lupin was strolling in between classes, it was a wonderful shining summer day, and it would simply be a shame not to take advantages and get outside to consume some sun rays before it would be winter and become to late, he always took joy in small things like this, it was the way he got through life. especially now as the past he had successfully escaped from a while ago insisted upon coming back to hunt him.

Remus was almost in a bit of a shock as he found that he had been so lost in thought that he had overlooked a figure sitting on the stair case, and he then tripped all the way over the figured.

It was only barely that he succeeded in keeping his balance, and the poor person on the stairs cringed away in shock.

"Professor!" a boys voice sounded.

Startled Remus turned around to see who he had stumbled over, and smiled relieved. "Mr Longbottom." he greeted amused.

"Professor I am so sorry" Neville slammed the book together he seemed to have been reading. "Are you all right?" he asked nervously.

"Not to worry" Remus shook his head. "As your mother would have said, what is life without inconveniences? a very boring routine." he commented without thinking.

Suddenly Neville was gaping at Remus, and Remus crocked amused an eyebrow.

"You knew my mother?" Neville asked.

"Well yeas." Remus felt stupid, of cause Neville would be wondering when Remus knew his mother. "She and Frank was a couple of years above me when I was in Hogwarts, we didn't speak to much at the time but I knew her err.. know her" it felt wrong to speak of Frank and Alice in past sentence as they were in fact alive. "We were comrades in fight at the first wizard war, that was when I really got to know them"

"You knew my dad to?" Neville's eyes was growing big and wide by the mili second.

"Yeas I did… do" Remus admitted. "He was a very good and dedicated man."

There was no way Neville's eyes could become any larger, Remus simply refused to believe it, and the way he gaped reminded a lot of a young Alice when she was surprised yet the silent awkwardness that hid a large potential greater than Alice could ever have but was so clearly an characteristic of Franks was always present in Neville as of now, his mother would have uttered very fast and very incoherent sentences by now, though he looked so much like her, he was the spitting image of her in fact.

"did.. did." Neville clearly had trouble saying what he wanted. "Did my mother really say stuff like that?" he asked.

Remus found himself letting out one little laugh. "She would always come with absurd awkward comments like that, and she was always so positive and full of energy" Remus smiled warmly at Neville. "She was quite a handful your mother, thankfully your father learned how to handle it, he loved her very much." Remus really didn't know if he should have formulated it as "loved her" or "love her" it was so strange trying to talk about the longbottoms, they weren't dead and yet they were.

"really" Neville asked a bit dumbfounded. "no one ever said she was like that, grandmother always just tells what a brilliant auror she was."

"That she was to." Remus nodded understandable suddenly feeling a bit guilty for letting Harry having the story of his parents but not Neville. Neville at least deserved what ever little Remus could tell him. "Tell you what, why don't you come to my office for tea one day and I tell you all what I can tell about them?"

"Really?" Neville smiled a bit nervously. "If it's not a problem."

"Neville, it would be my honor." Remus assured.

suddenly the bell ring. "But that honour will most differently have to be saved, I believe you have a class to catch, and for a matter of fact so do I" he smiled friendly at Neville.

nodding beyond intrigued with a new found light in his eyes, Neville muttered his thanks and darted off out in the garden in the direction of the herbology houses. shaking amused his head Remus turned around to head back into his own class room, he would be a couple of minutes late, no doubt to the amusement of all his students. good thing about being the teacher, there was no one above him to reprimand him that he in fact was late.

In the evening Remus was rumouring around in his office, scrambling around. a stack of already fixed essays from his first years students and four seventh year student essays was already laid on his table, all in all. he didn't really have an excuse to not do what it was he dreaded. yet he felt it his duty, thinking of how to tell Neville about his parents there was one thing that indeed seemed he could not waste, dreading Remus went to his great trunk containing everything he owned which was not unpacked unto the office, the trunk had several key holes which he of cause had the keys to, one each key would unlock a different contain of the trunk, the key he would need was not with all of his regular keys, but hidden away on the button of his jar of floo powder, the key was a small tiny key which could easily disappear in someone's pawn or pocket, much smaller than all the other keys belonging to the trunk. sighing he opened his trunk to a room that despise being magically contaminated was filled with dust from years of not having been touched.

To open this specific room was like opening the memories of another lifetime, all that which Remus had put behind him in order to move on. he knew it was only 12 years ago, but it did fell like a lifetime. And much of this stuff, he didn't knew why he had kept, perhaps he should have gone through this trunk years ago and thrown it all out, but he hadn't dared going even near it, for an outsider all the things was useless trash. But for Remus it was memories, he rummaged through a wolf tooth, which he knew was his own he had lost doing a full-moon night, and Sirius had gone back to find it curious if it had transformed back, which it hadn't detached from Remus, it would have to be worth a fortune, he really should just go ahead and sell it. a golden snitch James had stolen from the school and kept throughout his life, a now completely dried out and wiltered lily which Lily had transformed into a fish to Remus and had transformed back upon her death, a shoebox lined with cutton Peter had liked to sleep in as a rat when he slept over, as there wasn't much room where Remus and Sirius had lived, even at Lily and James as Peter did preferred the shoebox over a couch any day, much more space for him. Sometimes Remus had gotten the impression he was a bit to comfortable in his rat form.

One of the things Remus had been searching for, a red clown nose Alice would keep on her person at all times doing the war, Remus could not help but be amused by the memory despite the pain it also brought, a blue clown nose laid more to the left which Frank had bought to match the red one a month after Neville had been born, a pack of trick bubblegum that made the illusion of the chewer to have black teeth's while chewing, Franks prank gift to Alice. A quibble that would spell out rude remarks when you tried to use it, Alice's revenge.

Remus didn't have much of their stuff, only the things that Franks mother had felt imprudent to keep, things as their engagement rings, Alice's favourite jewellery, Franks books and so ford was either with them at Sanct. Mungos, or home at the Longbottoms where Augusta no doubt kept them safe and dust free. beside, Remus didn't know them all that well, good friends yeas. but their time had been cut short.

Right after the war Remus had been all alone. and he had felt desperate to do something, so he had taken it upon himself to visit the Longbottoms for a while, he had collected these silly things, not to mention all the photographs which Franks mother also felt was to silly and imprudent for safe keeping, and had collected them to go and show Frank and Alice on a daily basis to try and jar their memory at little, as Remus personally believed there was a better chance when showing them this silly small things than the prober right things. it didn't help in the least, quickly his daily visit just became a weekly visit, at some point it was once every second or third month, but as he distanced himself from everything else, he simply stopped as it became to painful, in order to try and live out his own life. it was with a pang of guilt Remus realized he hadn't visited Alice and Frank for years, he found the skinny photo album he himself had collected, with all of the pictures Neville probably had never seen.

Remus knew that Harry already had a photo album with every picture imaginable, Hagrid had send letters to everyone who knew James and Lily asking for pictures to Harry, Remus had only been to happy to comply, that was the last time he had opened this room in the trunk and he had copied every single picture he had with James and Lily. before that it had to be seven or more years since this room in the trunk had been opened. going through another search of Alice's and Franks old stuff though without luck, Remus closed and locked the trunk believing it would probably be another 7 or more years before he had to open it again, then again things could be so unpredictable at Hogwarts.

Refusing to tear up in front of Neville Remus decided to go through the pictures in the photo album at once, before he had to do it with Neville, opening the first page he was meet with a wedding picture where Frank was being carried up by a group of men while Alice was cutting the toes of his socks, claiming that it was a scandinavian tradition, Frank was wriggling and fighting to break loose on the picture while Alice was grinning a large smile changing between cutting his socks and tickling his shoeless feet's. at the picture below they were dancing in their wedding clothes, not the silent wedding waltz as those pictures would be in Franks mothers photo albums, but a mad form of free styling where Alice would keep on tripping over her own feet's and Frank hurried to catch her barely not managing to trip forward himself. Going through the pages the infamous red nose popped up again and again, one picture in particular Alice was beaming with her red nose on, Frank had his blue nose in place and between them was a wide eyed baby Neville Longbottom who were staring at his parents as if they were absolutely crazy. there were even older pictures from their days at Hogwarts, Alice sitting at a chair in the common room doing her homework, only to have Frank approaching her from behind, giving her so much a shock that she fell out of the chair, and Frank gently taking her hand helping her up again before they did the whole motion all over. There seemed to be most with Alice, but they were probably because she was most prudent to embarrassing situations, like the picture from before her N.E.W.T exam, where the seventeen year old Alice looked like a ghoul wanting to die, looking very grumpy and sourly at the camera, probably scowling she didn't wanted to be taken a picture of right now, her hair wilder than ever in all directions as a morning hair and her eyes tired of anxiety and lack of Sleep. Frank had already graduated at that point, so he was nowhere to be found in the background. Remus remembered they had first found together for real half way through Alice's sixth year and Franks seventh, and Alice had hated being apart from Frank her entire seventh year, the war had slowly started raging at that point, Remus himself had been a fifth year at her seventh year, and so he didn't really understand her anxiety and constant speak of him as the war was very much underground and the adults did not speak of it. Frank had wanted to fight, and therefore he had started training as an Auror immediately, Alice wanted to fight to, if it was because of Frank or because she genuinely wanted to fight Remus didn't know, but the fact remained was that she pushed her game her seventh year to get the grades that allowed her immediate Auror training. having gone through all the pictures in his mind, mentally preparing himself to just be happy when he had to go through them again, Remus felt exhausted and fairly quickly fell a sleep as he changed to night clothe and dropped down on his bed.

* * *

"Professor" Neville's nervous voice sounded from the door.

"Ah, mr Longbottom" Remus smiled at him, determinant to keep the mood happy. "Please come in, how about a cup of tea?" he asked.

"yeas please..thank you sir" Neville looked down in the ground, looking kind of unsure.

"Why don't you sit down." Remus gestured at a chair beside his desk.

Hesitating Neville sat down, looking all of the things around the room, Remus could not help but fell a little proud over his collection of tolls to handle the dark creatures, not to mention what ever few dark spell dictators he had, shambled they might be, all was used and in better working order than any bought tool, him himself having personally improved them. curiously Neville's gaze was stuck on the fang lying on the table, and was almost about to touch it.

"Better be careful with that." Remus made Neville aware as he poured tea. "That's a werewolf's tooth, it wont turn you into a werewolf, but just a rift can give permanent damage and wolf like behaviour at full moon."

Startled Neville retrieved from the tooth.

"I was planning on using it in a lecture for does who are taken N.E.W.T.S" he told Neville kindly. "By examine the curse upon the tooth you should be able to learn a lot about similar curses and illness's, even how they exactly in chemical terms effect and spread."

"That's… interesting." Neville commented, moving himself away from the tooth, which Remus picked up and put away as it was only to obvious Neville felt startled by the dangerous object.

"Sugar and Milch?" Remus asked as he placed the cup in front of Neville.

"Yeas please." Neville nodded, still side glancing a bit on the tooth, and other objects around the room.

First taking three big spoonful of sugar in his own tea, and then just hand the sugar and the milch to Neville Remus smiled. "People always tell me I put to much sugar in my tea, but I am afraid it's just a horrible habit of mine."

Neville nodded, still seemingly still a little bit nervous.

"Though I am nothing compared to your mother though, there was literately more sugar in her tea than actual tea." Remus commented. "Frank liked his tea plain."

Neville's eyes at once lithe up with interest, as he didn't take his eyes away from Remus while he was adding milch to his thea. "did she also like bubblegum back then?" he asked.

"Loved it" Remus smiled. "could never catch her without it." he opened his little drawer where he found the few objects as he had found in his trunk. "Neither your mother or father was as strict as I am sure your grandmother makes them out to be, she actually wanted to throw this out." he took up the items and the slime photo-album from the drawer and placed it on the desk.

puzzled Neville looked at the odd items, his facial expression betraying him as it was obvious he probably thought Remus was going mad.

Remus chuckled a bit. "These were all your mothers and fathers stuff." he told Neville. "I went through some really old stuff I had packed away for years the other day." he picked up the red clown nose and turned it in his hand. "At the war, your mother believed that no matter how bleak things was, you could get through it as long as you could understand how to smile, she had this at her person at all time." he put the clown nose at the table, making Neville just look at it in awe. "Your father in return had this on his person at all time." Remus gestured the blue clown nose.

"I… I didn't know." Neville seemed star struck. "that is brilliant." he breathed. "absolutely brilliant." hesitating he reached for the noses but kept his hands away in the last moment.

"Neville. it's all right, these are yours." Remus made aware. "I took them from Alice's and Franks home as they would have been thrown out otherwise, but that doesn't make them less yours."

clearly with his hand shaking Neville picked up the red nose and hold it in his hands, as if he was weighing it.

"And this." Remus dusted off the slim photo album. "Is all the things your grandmother wouldn't allow the public to see, or at least some of it."

Neville looked terrified as he was holding the photo-album, white as a sheet but swallow he bravely opened the book, and a great sigh of relief followed by an amusing smile followed as his laughing mother cut off the toes of his fathers socks.

Wondering Neville went through the pages. "My mother was clumsy to?" he asked bewildered at several pictures just showed Alice tripping around, falling on her bum and slamming herself into things, Also several pictures of Frank being the receiving end of all sorts of miss shapes and disasters as he always seemed to be at the wrong place the wrong time.

"Yeas." Remus nodded. "very clumsy, but that was indeed a part of her charm."

"Dad seems to be very patient with her." Neville commented.

"Sometimes he was to patient" Remus admitted. "He was a silent type, But he grew out of it. he was the one who kept a straight head of the two of them in their adult life. If I may be frank to say it, I am very glad that I have been able to detect both best features in you"

Neville became red all over as he dug behind the photo album, mumbling something that probably was a thanks.

A picture dropped down from the book, up until now having been hidden tugged away in the bookbinding. curiously Neville picked it up. "Who's that?" he lifted an eyebrow.

"Let me have a look." Remus gently took the picture, his eyes widened and he remembered why this picture had been tugged away. It was Alice holding the ear of Sirius Black, dragging him away by the ear while Frank barely looked up from the book in the background, Remus had to close his eyes to compose himself for a while, at the time it had felt wrong throwing the picture away as it was an amusing and all around quite good picture showcasing both Frank and Alice at their normal amusing day routine, but on the other hand it hadn't been right to put Sirius in the photo album dragging the other images through the dirt, so he had compromised and saved the picture in the bookbinding. "That would be." Remus composed himself. "That would be Sirius Black" he finally muttered handing the picture back.

Startled Neville looked at the picture, and then a smile broke through. "My mother dragged Sirius Black by the ear?" he snickered a bit. "That is the same dangerous mass murder Sirius Black as everyone is afraid off right now?"

The humour was not lost on Remus, Sirius looked absolutely ridiculous and beaten on the picture, the mere fact Frank was just sitting there in the background added to the comedy. and to think that complaining adolescent on the picture was the one of the same as the man people where whispering about now seemed utterly ridiculous.

"Who's that?" Neville turned around the picture to point on another frame that had shortly entered the picture to smuckly whispering a comment to Sirius before wandering out again, having Sirius yelling snarling back at him pouting his lips.

"That would be me." Remus had to admit.

"You knew Black?" Neville was asking.

Remus took a deep breath, a long time stacked away feeling of being dirtied and ridiculed by the man creeping over him, and he felt like spitting but composed himself. "I am very sorry to say that I did, and I am even more sorry to say that they had to drag around with him. But lets not talk about that."

Neville nodded understandable. "Thank you for this professor" he gestured down on the items. "I never knew these things, my mother and father are so brilliant." he smiled. "I'm sure mom would be happy to see this again." he held up the red nose.

"I sure hope so" Remus nodded. "how are they?"

"lost" Neville shrugged.

Remus nodded not wanting to push the subject further.

"Do you know.." he breathed. "do you know how they meet?"

Remus smiled warmly. "At Hogwarts of cause." he told. "They knew each other before I even started, as I said, they were a couple of years above me, Frank even being a year above Alice, but from what I heard. Frank fell in love the moment he saw Alice for the first time at his second year, it took a while for Frank to win her over though, first as his seventh year…"

Remus told the tale while Neville was completely enthralled listening, tugging the slim album and the noses close to his heart. Remus was happy for Neville's positive and happy reaction, he felt content. it was first after Neville had gone a dreadful thought entered Remus's mind, to think of all the horrors that red nose had seen and how much more it would be bound to see as Remus had a nagging feeling Neville would now also have that nose hidden safely away in his pocket at all times, chances were though he would never ever take it out, and most differently not take it on. the boy was far to chaste for any such things, much like Frank who actually quite liked the silliness, but would never ever be the one to begin, not on purpose anyway, but despite not admitting it, liked to join in after the others had started.

Neville were so much like the both of them that it almost hurt, and in his heart Remus knew they would have loved him dearly if they were capable. It was indeed a tragedy.


End file.
